Because
by ashin
Summary: Riku's conclusive contemplation between him and Sora after the whole Kingdom Hearts II journey. One shot.


**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Tetsuya Nomura.

**Notes:** I wrote this on the spur of a moment, while thinking about Sora as a character. I just wanted to write down what might've been a more conclusive contemplation. And I wrote this for a friend :)

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**-- Kingdom Hearts II : Because --**

"Where's Riku?" Kairi asked, turning to Sora.

"I don't know. I'll go look for 'im," Sora replied as he got up.

It was a lazy day. Prior to this, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, Riku and Sora had a picnic near the seaside shack, and now, they'd moved off to the cave for a nap. Riku had subtly expressed his discomfort with having such a lazy afternoon, but he played along—after all, he knew that these loony heroes were trying to take a rest as lazy as they could. Sora reckoned that while they'd made their way to the cave, Riku had snuck off.

_Oh well. I'll bet Riku's sitting by himself, gazing over the ocean and contemplating deep thoughts, _Sora thought as he smiled to himself.

Riku sat on the trunk of the bending coconut tree, gazing over the ocean, his arms folded.

_Sora…_

He held his hand up. There was something on his palm—the _Oblivion_ keychain that went with Sora's Keyblade. Since they'd gotten back together, they were closer than ever. He remembered what it was like, the day Sora handed this keychain personally to him.

"_Riku, before we fought the first Ansem a long time ago, Kairi gave this to me. She wanted me to promise I'll go back to her, along with you. It took me a really long time before I fulfilled that promise. Now I want you to have this."_

"_Why?"_

"_I want you to promise me, if you ever go far away again—you'll come back to me."_

"_Sora… I'm sure I'll come back. I'm not like you!"_

"_Hey, what do you mean by that!? I'm serious!"_

"_Alright, alright… I promise."_

He snorted. 'He still hasn't grown up, has he…?'

He held his hand higher, until he was looking straight to the sky. It was getting late, and the skylight no longer stung his eyes as it did earlier.

_It's been a while since I last saw the light._

He frowned.

_The darkness was comfortable…because my heart was fading away._

_If it were so comfortable…why did I move out of it?_

"Riku!"

"Sora?" Riku asked as he kept the _Oblivion_ keychain, turning to look at Sora.

"There you are! What's with that face?" Sora asked. "Something bothering you?" He sat down beside Riku.

"No, not really."

"Why'd you go off like that?"

"I wasn't tired… Don't worry, I'm not gonna just disappear on you," Riku smiled as he turned to look at Sora, who thought he saw the keychain. He smiled widely.

Sensing that Riku needed some peace, Sora turned to gaze at the sea instead. Riku did likewise. Silence reigned for a while.

"Sora, there's something I've been thinking about…"

"What is it?"

"When I had taken to the darkness… Why didn't you give up on me?"

On hearing that, Sora turned to look at Riku, who didn't reciprocate.

"Riku?"

"I followed Maleficent. I did things. And I've told you at Castle Oblivion, that I couldn't face you, and that's why I never came back to you guys. And I don't understand… Why didn't you give up on me?"

"But that's a silly question!"

The remark compelled Riku to face Sora.

"I'm serious!"

"Riku, I thought we'd clear the air up some time ago, before we came back here."

"Well, yeah… I never did hear _your_ side of the story."

"Say, Riku… Why did you help us out during our journey?"

"C'mon. I want _your_ story. Don't turn it back to me."

"I'm not answering until you do!"

"…Okay, you win," Riku sighed. He contemplated for a while. "I just wanted to help you, that's all."

Sora smiled, but he kept silent. When Riku realised Sora wasn't going to respond, he felt a little annoyed at his own puzzlement. "What?"

"I just wanted to help you…that's all. You're my best friend."

Riku stared at Sora.

"You're sappy man…"

"Hey!!"

"Well…"

"While looking for you, I was thinking about it," Sora interrupted. "I was thinking, 'Where's Riku right now? What's he thinking about now? What's he feeling right now? Is he okay?' I figured if I looked hard enough, I'd find you. My mind wouldn't rest until I knew you were okay. I knew I was right!"

Riku stayed silent.

"See, Riku…" Sora dropped down from the trunk. Riku looked up at him.

"I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world."

"Sora--! Is Riku with you?!" a voice boomed from a distance. Before long, the source drew near. "So you've found him! I thought you two had been warped away into another world or something." Kairi gestured to them. "C'mon! Donald and Goofy are planning to make a raft! Let's give 'em some pointers!"

"Sounds like fun!" Sora replied with enthusiasm.

"Sounds funny," Riku remarked.

"We'll be waiting near the jetty! Don't take too long, guys!" Kairi said before she turned and ran off.

"Let's go!" Sora urged as he started moving, looking back as he did.

"Sora…" Riku uttered. When Sora paused, he smirked. "You're disgusting."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Alright, alright, look! Kairi's waiting!" Riku laughed as he ran past Sora, hinting him with a look: "You're on!"

Catching the hint, Sora smiled. "I'll beat you to it!"

And Riku kicked Sora off the bridge, sending him into the waters. "RIKU!!"

Riku laughed.

_I think I'm beginning to understand, why you were chosen as the Keyblade wielder._

_You know how to connect people's hearts, and you don't have to act at all. You just…do. All the people you've met, you walk into their hearts, no matter how guarded. No one else would go the extra mile for people…except you._

_And I think I'm beginning to understand why I hung on in the darkness, when I could have easily lost myself in and to it…_

_Deep down, I knew…you'd come for me._


End file.
